She had... no. We had stopped. Right in the middle of the crowd. She looked at me. Troubled. And maybe determined. There was something. Something. Groundbreaking. Perhaps.

Reaching out. She untied and tied my bow. The red bow. I did the same to her. Tied it properly. While they were all watching. She wiped my mouth with her hand. And I wiped hers.

Then she leaned in. Well, up mostly. I was the tallest. I bent down just a bit. So she could reach. Her arms around my neck. Brown eyes. Wasn't feeling nervous anymore. She shut them. Those pretty eyes.

I put my arms around her neck too when we started kissing. Shut my eyes. Shut it all out. All except for her. I knew they were all watching. Talking about how stupid we were. But I felt nothing but her. The girl. Her lips. She took my breath away.

So nice. I'd never kissed anyone before. It was soft. And warming in a way. And wet. She tasted like soil. A little sweet too, but mostly like dirt. I smiled. While kissing. It was funny.

When we opened our eyes. Nobody said a thing. Some were looking away. Some were staring awkwardly. A boy and a girl were smiling. A man blinked.

I took the girl's hand. And walked away. Hand in hand. The knife in the sheath on her leg. The magic uniforms and shoes. Nothing in the world could ever touch us. We were free.

Up and down streets. Nothing looked familiar. But we knew the way. A little house. Out in the wood. Far away from everything. Cottage made of wood.

There was a stone tablet next to the door. I took the knife and wrote her name in it. The right side. Then I gave the knife to her. She wrote my name on the left side. And she drew a heart around the names. And a plus. Right between the names.

This would do. No reason to stay outside. The door was unlocked. We walked inside. Shut the door. Turned the lock. Exploration. Slight thrill. Gave her hand an extra squeeze.

Living room. Where we'd be living. Walls, ceiling, and floor made of wood. A bed. Table with two chairs. A closet with food. Friendly smell. Like bread in the oven. And an oven. And a fireplace too.

A garden. Circular. The greenest grass in the universe. Surrounded by a tall hedge. We could see to the heavens. Night would fall soon. Back inside the house.

The last room. Marble walls. A marble room. Shower and bathtub. Toilet and sink. Only one thing was missing. A mirror. It didn't seem to bother the girl. But I was a bit sad. I really wanted to see myself. Especially now.

On the floor was something wonderful. It made me forget the missing mirror. Clothes. For both of us. Not dresses. The girl turned on the shower. The new clothes could wait.

Fully dressed. Into the water. Dirt and blood came off slowly. She removed the sheath. Washed the knife too. Until it was as good as new. I took the scrunchie from my wrist and wrapped it around the knife handle. Put the sheath and the knife and the scrunchie on the floor.

Dress came off. Dress shirt too. Red bow. Black shoes. White socks. Panties. Rubbing it all against the floor. The colors returned. The scent didn't. It didn't smell like blood, but the aroma from before was gone. Sad really. Maybe it'd return some day. When we'd need it.

The girl yawned. One. Two. Three. Four. Four seconds and I yawned too. Contagious yawning. Tired. I had to sleep soon. We washed each other's hair. Dried ourselves. And then to the bed. The clothes and the food and the garden could wait until tomorrow.

The mattress was soft, but not too much. It was a nice bed. One and a half person size. The blanket was deep sky blue with white clouds. The heaven. Somehow. A bit of it was here. The sky high above. In the bed.

I lied down. Took the pillow and placed it in the other end. Better that way. The girl went to the bathroom, but returned shortly. She had the ribbons in her hand. Lied down in next to me and took my right hand.

She tied the silk ribbon. Nicely around my wrist. Several times and with a small bow to seal it. I giggled. And she smiled. And handed me the other ribbon.

The girl held up her hand. I took her arm. Gave her raspberry. More giggling. It wasn't supposed to be the same. So I tied it around her ankle instead. Ended with a fine bow. Like a wrapped up gift.

She flicked off the light. Joined me under the sky blue duvet. Whispered goodnight and wrapped her arms around me. I hugged her too. Grinded our noses together. Kissed her mouth briefly.

I told her she tasted better now. She laughed. Kissed me. Licked my lips. The girl said the same thing to me. So nice. Her soft body. Like a warm cat. Just bigger and better. Her feet and knees were a bit cold. Mine too. I closed my eyes. And slept.